Hryhorii Epik
Encyclopedia
Hryhorii Danylovych Epik (January 17, 1901 – November 3, 1937) was a Ukrainian
writer and journalist. He supported the Soviet Ukrainization
during the 1920s which probably led to his arrest and execution during the Great Purge
in the 1930s.
, he started to work at a railway workshop office. He was fired from his job in 1918 after he had taken part in anti-Hetmanate actions. In 1919, he joined the staff of the first volunteer Moscow regiment and took part in revolutionary events. In early 1920, he joined the Bolshevik party and the Revolutionary committee
in Kamianske. He later moved to Poltava
where he worked as a political instructor, secretary and chairman of a regional board. During the period of 1922–1924, Epik worked within the regional board of the Ukrainian branch of Komsomol
and during 1924–1925, as an editor of Chervonyi shliakh (Red Road) in Kharkiv
.
From 1925 to 1929, he studied in the department of Ukrainian history at the Kharkiv Institute of Red Professors. After graduating from there, he became the director of the Derzhlitvydav publishing house (State Publishing House).
(Free Academy of Proletarian Literature). These organizations gathered many young members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia that in the 1930s suffered severely during the Great Purge
.
In Epik's prose from the 1920s he sharply criticized different aspect of the Soviet regime, particularly in Bez gruntu from 1928. His last novels from the 1930s, however, were written in the Stalinist spirit.
During the late 1920s, Epik also was a screen writer for the growing Ukrainian film industry.
in the early 1930s he suffered from the purges. He was arrested on December 5, 1934, accused of being a Ukrainian nationalist and a member of a secret terrorist organization. In early 1935, he was sentenced to ten years of forced labour and sent to Solovki prison camp.
While in the Solovki prison camp, he continued to write and he even sent one of his works, called Solovki stories, to NKVD
in Moscow. Later, he was disappointed and stopped writing.
Epik was executed on November 3, 1937 in a locality named Sandarmokh
near Medvezhyegorsk
in Karelian ASSR, together with 289 other members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia such as Mykola Kulish
, Valerian Pidmohylnyi, Yulian Shpol, Valerian Polishuk, Les Kurbas
, Myroslav Irchan, Mykola Zerov
.
Epik was posthumously rehabilitated
in 1956 by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
writer and journalist. He supported the Soviet Ukrainization
Ukrainization
Ukrainization is a policy of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of Ukrainian culture, in various spheres of public life such as education, publishing, government and religion.The term is used, most prominently, for the...
during the 1920s which probably led to his arrest and execution during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
in the 1930s.
Early life
After studies at the rural school in a big village of Kamianske (pop. ~20,000), Yekaterinoslav GovernorateYekaterinoslav Governorate
The Yekaterinoslav Governorate or Government of Yekaterinoslav was a governorate in the Russian Empire. Its capital was the city of Yekaterinoslav .-Administrative divisions:...
, he started to work at a railway workshop office. He was fired from his job in 1918 after he had taken part in anti-Hetmanate actions. In 1919, he joined the staff of the first volunteer Moscow regiment and took part in revolutionary events. In early 1920, he joined the Bolshevik party and the Revolutionary committee
Revolutionary committee
Revolutionary committees or revkoms were Bolshevik-led organizations in Soviet Russia and in areas of its activities established to serve as provisional governments and temporary Soviet administrations in territories under the control of the Red Army in 1918-1920, during the Russian Civil War and...
in Kamianske. He later moved to Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
where he worked as a political instructor, secretary and chairman of a regional board. During the period of 1922–1924, Epik worked within the regional board of the Ukrainian branch of Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
and during 1924–1925, as an editor of Chervonyi shliakh (Red Road) in Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
.
From 1925 to 1929, he studied in the department of Ukrainian history at the Kharkiv Institute of Red Professors. After graduating from there, he became the director of the Derzhlitvydav publishing house (State Publishing House).
Writings
Epik's writings started to appear in print in 1923. He was a member of several Ukrainian literary organizations such as Pluh, Prolitfront and VAPLITEVAPLITE
Vilna Akademia Proletarskoi LITEratury was a literary union in Ukraine. It was established in Kharkiv and existed from January, 1926 to January 28, 1928....
(Free Academy of Proletarian Literature). These organizations gathered many young members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia that in the 1930s suffered severely during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
.
In Epik's prose from the 1920s he sharply criticized different aspect of the Soviet regime, particularly in Bez gruntu from 1928. His last novels from the 1930s, however, were written in the Stalinist spirit.
During the late 1920s, Epik also was a screen writer for the growing Ukrainian film industry.
Repression and death
Even though Epik had continued to support the Communist Party also after the abrupt reversion of the Soviet UkrainizationUkrainization
Ukrainization is a policy of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of Ukrainian culture, in various spheres of public life such as education, publishing, government and religion.The term is used, most prominently, for the...
in the early 1930s he suffered from the purges. He was arrested on December 5, 1934, accused of being a Ukrainian nationalist and a member of a secret terrorist organization. In early 1935, he was sentenced to ten years of forced labour and sent to Solovki prison camp.
While in the Solovki prison camp, he continued to write and he even sent one of his works, called Solovki stories, to NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
in Moscow. Later, he was disappointed and stopped writing.
Epik was executed on November 3, 1937 in a locality named Sandarmokh
Sandarmokh
Sandarmokh is a forest massif in Medvezhyegorsky District, Karelia, Russia, a burial site of victims of Soviet political repressions, where over 9,000 bodies were discovered after the place was found in 1997 by members of the Memorial Society....
near Medvezhyegorsk
Medvezhyegorsk
Medvezhyegorsk , formerly known as Medvezhya Gora and Karhumäki, is a town and the administrative center of Medvezhyegorsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. Population: 15,800 ....
in Karelian ASSR, together with 289 other members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia such as Mykola Kulish
Mykola Kulish
Mykola Kulish was a Ukrainian prosaic, drama writer, pedagogue, veteran of the World War I, Red Army veteran.-Brief biography:Kulish was born in a village of...
, Valerian Pidmohylnyi, Yulian Shpol, Valerian Polishuk, Les Kurbas
Les Kurbas
Oleksandr-Zenon Stepanovych Kurbas , a Ukrainian movie and theater director, is considered by many to be the most important Ukrainian theater director of the 20th century...
, Myroslav Irchan, Mykola Zerov
Mykola Zerov
Mykola Zerov was perhaps the most talented of the Neoclassicist movement of poets in 1920's Ukraine. Despite the populist and propagandistic impulses of Communism, the neoclassical movement stressed the production of 'high art' to an educated and highly literate audience...
.
Epik was posthumously rehabilitated
Political rehabilitation
Political rehabilitation is the process by which a member of a political organization or government who has fallen into disgrace, is restored to public life. It is usually applied to leaders or other prominent individuals who regain their prominence after a period in which they have no influence or...
in 1956 by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR was created in 1924 to the Supreme Court of the USSR as a court for the higher military and political personnel of Red Army and Fleet...
.
Short stories
- 1926 – Na zlomi (At the Break Point)
- 1928 – V snihakh (Amid the Snows)
- 1929 – Obloha (The Siege)
- 1930 – Tom satyry (A Volume of Satire)
Novels
- 1928 – Bez gruntu (Without Ground)
- 1929 – Zustrich (The meeting)
- 1930 – Nepiia (NEPia)
- 1931 – Persha vesna (The First Spring)
- 1932 – Petro Romen